My second full day in Scotland and I’m starting to realize that Scotland may be the most misunderstood country that Americans think they know all about. With so many Americans of English and Scottish descent and with the history and literature in our schools, until fairly recently, so Euro- and especially Anglo-centric, we think we know Scotland as if it were a 51st US state. We don’t and it isn’t. First of all, most...

Last year you may remember, our Scottish friends Jan and Scotch Andrew treated us to a traditional Burns Night Supper. It was such a resounding success, we’ve been calling for a repeat since then. Who would have thought that an event centered around offal and oats stuffed in a sheep’s stomach would be such a hit on these shores? But haggis is surprisingly good. Not to mention that a traditional Scottish celebration has...

We have a great group of English and Scottish friends with whom we usually celebrate what we call the Trifecta of the High Holy Holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. In fact, we have so much fun on these occasions, we’ve been searching for years for other suitably hallowed events on which to gather. Finally, someone recommended Burns Night, a traditional Scottish festivity celebrating national poet Robert Burns. Our...